Building foundations, highway tunnels, pipelines, and many other areas of the nation's infrastructure rely on adequate corrosion performance of buried metal. A representative example is provided by mechanically stabilized earth walls (MSEW), which are critical structural components in nearly all highways. The walls are often reinforced with galvanized steel buried in the soil. Voids sometimes occur in the soil and are typically filled with cement-based, hardened, controlled low-strength material (CLSM). In such cases, soil/CLSM electrochemical macrocells may develop and aggravate reinforcement corrosion.
Half-cell potential surveys of the soil, CLSM, and similar surfaces can be used for non-destructive corrosion monitoring by identifying macroscopic anodic and cathodic regions. Potential measurements can also serve to diagnose and adjust cathodic protection systems if they are needed for corrosion control. Such potential measurements commonly use conventional copper-copper(II) sulfate electrodes (CSEs), which require physical contact with the surface (and its disturbance) as well as waiting times to have a stable reading, which are both disadvantages in extensive surveys. It would, therefore, be desirable to have alternative systems and methods for monitoring buried reinforcement structures that do not have these drawbacks.